Recordpub.com - Car drove on walkway at Kent State Witness said pedestrians had to jump out of the way

By Matt Fredmonsky
Record-Courier staff writer
A car driving on The Esplanade at Kent State University Thursday morning caused a brief moment of concern for pedestrians.
The Kent State University police received a report shortly after 11:30 a.m. of a car driving about 30 mph on the wide pedestrian pathway behind Bowman Hall that stretches across campus and connects with The Portage Hike and Bike Trail.
Dean Tondiglia, KSU's assistant police chief, said when officers arrived they found three vehicles illegally parked on a portion of The Esplanade near Bowman Hall off Summit Street.
Tondiglia said two of the drivers were warned and not ticketed.
"When the officers arrived (the drivers) were on their way out or leaving," Tondiglia said. "The third vehicle was ticketed and tagged. It wasn't towed."
The driver of the third car was given an illegal parking ticket through the university's parking management department, Parking Services. It is unclear if any of the vehicle's drivers were KSU students.
The portion of The Esplanade where the incident occurred was at one time a service road connected to Janik and Portage drives, which spill out onto Summit Street.
The person who called in the illegal driving reportedly told police dispatchers students had to jump out of the way to avoid the car on the pedestrian path.
Tondiglia said university police could not confirm the driver's rate of speed and did not receive any direct reports from pedestrians stating they had to move to avoid the car.
"There was the indication that one car was driving fast, but we don't know which vehicle that was," he said. "Either way, fast or slow, they're not supposed to be driving up on The Esplanade."
"I think it was just a concerned person in Bowman Hall that saw this car driving through there fast," Tondiglia said.

1.	Posted by Rob Anderson July 18, 2008
	esplanade n. a level, open space of ground; esp., a public walk or roadway, often along a shore.(Webster's) At KSU it's merely a hybrid/mutant/ wannabe governed by the following facts: ~~absolutely no posted signage prohibiting/controlling vehiclular traffic at it's intersections with the dedicated roads Terrace Dr., Janic Drive or Portage. ~~absolutely no posted signage prohibiting/controlling the parking of motorized vehicles along the "esplinade". ~~a history of allowing vehicular traffic/parking by the maintenance/service staff(daily), faculty(prn), students(move-in/move-out) and contractors(prn). In fact, as I went through the area today shortly before noon, there was a late-model Ford Explorer, red in color, Lic. #-witheld, parked on the patio area in front of Olson Hall, no more than three feet from one of the picnic tables...go figure.